Stair tread

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a stair tread and, more particularly, to a system for remodeling new or renovating worn stair treads which involves routing a recess in the stair and placing an insert in the recess.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,866,268 Cormier Feb. 18, 1975 [5 STAIRTREAD 1,928,488 9/1933 Hammerschmidt 52/179 [761 Louis 1119011119142Central $31332 $11327 $12211???"""Tjiiiiiiiii:315351123 Southbndge,MHSS- 01550 3,033,635 5/1962 Glass 1 108/64 Jan. 24 3,620,170 11/1971F1081" 312/341 NR [211 App}. 326,531 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS21,482 10/1901 Great Britain 52/179 Rfilated Appllcatlon Data 9,3755/1899 Great Britain 52/189 [62] Division of Ser. No. 103,743, Jan. 4,1971, Pat. No.

3,726,327, which is a division of Ser. No. 778,365, P i E i p l R Gilli1968 35521084' Assistant ExaminerDoris L. Troutman Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Norman S. Blodgett; Gerry [52] U.S. Cl. 16/10, 52/179 Blodgett [51]Int. Cl A47g 27/04 [58] Field of Search 16/10, 4, 16, 7; 52/179,

52/189, 191; 161/7 [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a stair treadand, more part1c- [56] References Ci d u1ar1y, to a system forremodeling new or renovating UNITED STATES PATENTS vvorn srtlzirtreziids whiich intvflvtiseroislrg a recess in the 1,497,163 6/1924 VanDer Pei 52/179 5 a" a p ac ng an nse 1,789,875 1/1931 Loudenslager52/179 2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures HJENTED 3.866.268

SHEET 3 OF 3 FIG. 8

STAIR TREAD REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS This is a division ofpatent application Ser. No. 103,743 filed Jan. 4, 1971, now US. Pat. No.3,726,327, which, in turn, is a division of patent application Ser. No.778,365 filed Oct. 11, 1968, now US. Pat. No. 3,552,084.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION One of the most common problems that occursin the renovation of buildings is that the replacement of worn stairtreads is a very expensive operation. This is because it is not onlynecessary to remove the old stair tread but, at the same time, to removemop boards and similar trim that rest on the outer ends of the stairs.Attempts to fill the worn spots in the stairs by use of filler materialshave been unsuccessful because of the difficulty of bonding the fillermaterial with the original stair tread material. These and otherdifficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviatedin a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide astair tread having a selected surface which has good wearability,anti-slip charcteristics, or the like.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a system forrenovating a stair tread which is inexpensive to carry out.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide apparatus forthe renovation of worn stair treads, which apparatus is simple andrugged in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and which is capableof a long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a system forrenovating a worn stair tread which is pleasing in appearance andwhich,- in fact, improves the appearance of the stair over its originalcondition.

Withthese and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general, the present invention consists ofan insert for a stair tread, having a main body with a flat uppersurface, a recess of a predetermined plan shape formed in the uppersurface, at least a portion of the recess opening onto the nose of thebody and the remainder being undercut. The insert is fastened into therecess and has an outwardly and downwardly flared edge for locking itinto the undercut edge of the recess. More specifically, the bottom ofthe recess and the bottom of the insert are both flat and the thicknessof the insert is slightly greater than the depth of the recess, so thatthe upper surface of the insert lies slightly higher than the uppersurface of the tread. The edges of the recess and insert are formed witha vertical portion adjacent the upper surface of the tread and anangular portion adjacent the bottom of the recess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The character of the invention,however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structuralforms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stairway embodying the principles ofthe present invention,

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. I, whichbest shows the general features of the invention, the stair tread,indicated generally by reference numeral 10, is shown in use with astairway 11 and having an insert 12.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that the stair tread has a main body 13with a flat upper surface 14. The surface has a recess 15 of rectangularshape. The recess has one side opening on the nose 16, while the otherthree sides are undercut. The insert 12 is fastened by cementing or thelike in the recess and the insert has threeoutwardly-and-downwardly-flared edges which lock into the undercut edgesof the recess. As is evident from the drawing, the bottom 17 of therecess and the bottom 18 of the insert are both flat. The thickness ofthe insert is slightly greater than the depth of the recess, so that theupper surface 19 of the insert lies slightly higher than the uppersurface 14 of the main body 13 of the tread. The insert is, in thepreferred embodiment, formed as an injection molding of a plastic, suchas vinyl, and its upper surface may be configurated to give it anon-slip character. The insert material could also include metals, wood,plastic, or other composition materials.

The aforementioned flared three edges of the insert 12 are provided withan upper vertical portion 21 which lies against a similar upper verticalportion 22 and a lower inclined portion 23 which engages a similar lowerinclined portion 24. The intersection of the portion 23 and the bottom18 will have clearance. In FIG. 2 it can be seen that the intersectionsof the sides of the recess 12 are rounded at 25, while the correspondingcorners of the insert are truncated or cut off to form a surface 26which provides clearance at the corners. If desired, the edge of theinsert 12, which is exposed along the nose 16 of the tread, can beserved to match the nose surface, or may be of two-piece construction.

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate a template 27 that can be used with arouter tool and cutter to form the recess in the main body. The templateis formed of a metal, such as aluminum, or composition materials in theshape of a rectangular frame 31 and is shaped with recesses 32 on itsbroad upper and lower surfaces 28 and 29. A large aperture 33 extendsthrough the plate and has the same general shape as the recess. Morespecifically, the aperture has an elongated rectangular main portion 34from one end of which extends at a right angle a leg 35 and from theother end of which extends a leg 36. The leg 35 has a uniform widthalong its entire length, but the leg 36 has that width only in the partclosest to the main portion 34; further out from the main portion theleg 36 widens out to allow for initial cutter engagement. In its centralportion, the plate has a fastening bore 37 which is countersunk on bothsides. The upper surface 28 of the plate is provided with a continuousflat path 38 around the entire edge of the aperture 33, the plane ofthis path being located parallel to a similar path on the flat undersurface 29 of the plate and accurately spaced therefrom. Extending fromthe under surface 29 and located beside the legs 35 and 36 are locatingpegs 39 and 41, respectively. On the upper surface 28 and located at acorner of the plate away from the peg 39 is'a recess 42 in which ishingedly mounted a locating peg 43; a similar locating peg 44 ishingedly mounted in a recess 45 at the corner opposite the peg 41. Aprotuberance 46 extends from theplate adjacent the peg 43 and has a bore40 extending through it carrying a guide rod 47 which can be locked inposition by a screw 48. At the other end of the plate, a similarprotuberance 49 is provided with a bore 51 and a locking screw 52.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the details of a routing tool 53 for uses with arouter and the template 27 for forming the recess in the tread. Therouting tool has an elongated stem 54 having one end adapted to belocated in the chuck of a high-speed router of the conventional portabletype. At the other end, the stem is provided with a cutter 55 having aflat bottom 56 lying at a right angle to the axis of the stem. Extendingfrom the bottom is a frusto-conical cutting portion 57 from whichextends a cylindrical cutting portion 58. Finally, a rolling guide 59having an outer cylindrical surface of approximately the same diameteras the cylindrical cutting portion 58. The flange is formed as a ballbearing with the inner race locking on the stem of the tool and theouter race having the cylindrical guiding surface.

The operation of the apparatus will now be understood in view of theabove description taken with FIGS. 7 and 9. Let us assume that thecentral portion of the stair tread 1 'of the stairway 11 is worn, sothat the stairway, is dangerous and needs repair. The template 27 islaid'on the maid body 13 of the tread with its under surface 29 incontact with the upper surface 14 of the body. The template is slidrearwardly until both locating pegs 39 and 41 contact the nose 16 of thetread, the edge of which is shown as a dotted line in FIG. 4. The rod 47contacts a vertical wall at the side of the stair and locates thetemplate laterally. A flathead wood screw is passed through the bore 37in the plate and driven into the wood until its head lies in thecountersink and the plate is tightly locked in place. The tool 53 islocked into thechuck of the portable router 60 to set depth with gageprovided on template. The router and tool are moved verticallydownwardly through the opening 100 (starting position) until the guideflange 61 of the router rests on the upper surface 28 of the template.It will be understood in the initial entry of the routingtool into theopening 100, that the opening will lie entirely outside of the stairtread; this means that it is not necessary to start the rotation of therouter until the router and tool are completely in place. The router ismoved around in the aperture 33 until a recess has been cut which is inthe shape of the aperture. Usually, the outline of the aperture would berouted out first by guiding the router and tool along the edge of theaperture. The guide flange 59 engages the edge in a frictionless manner.When the entire area below the aperture 33 has been routed out, the woodscrew is moved and the locating pegs 43 and 44 are swung out of theirrecesses 42 and 45, respectively, to positions at right angles in theupper surface 28 of the template. The template is rolled over and laidon the stair with upper surface 28 facing downwardly and in contact withthe upper surface 14 of the stair tread. The plate is pushed rearwardlyuntil the locating pegs 43 and 44 contact the nose of the tread. The rod47 contacts a vertical wall at the side of the stair and locates thetemplate laterally, not only for the two operations on a given stairtread, but also for successive treads in a stairway. The wood screw isused to fasten the template in place and the router and tool are used tofinish the formation of the recess. The template is then removed, therecess is cleaned out, and the insert 12 is slid into the recess fromthe opening onto the nose 16. A cement adhesive is used to lock it inplace.

It can be seen that this method of renovating a worn stair tread hasmany advantages. It is not necessary to remove and replace the treaditself; this results in a considerable cost saving, since the treads arequite expensive, replacing them requires considerable expensive labor,and in removing them damage is often done to the mop boards andmoldings, at the ends of the stairs. Often these moldings cover the endsof. the treads and must be removed before the tread can be replaced.

The use of a recess 16 and insert with a vertical portion 21 and 22 atthe top of the edge obviates the possibility of splitting of the woodaround the insert. Having the upper surface of the insert slightly abovethe upper surface of the main body of the tread is also helpful in thisrespect.

it is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however,

desired to confine the invention to the exact formherein shown anddescribed, but it is desired to include all such as properly come withinthe scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent 1. An insert for use in a recess ina stair tread, comprising a rectangular plate having parallel upper andlower surfaces and having the shape of the recess, the plate having fouredges three of which form an acute angle with the lower surface and oneof which forms a right angle with the lower surface, the two cornersdefined by the three edges and the lower surface are truncated toprovide clearance at the corners.

2. An insert as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the three edges hasa portion which is at an acute angle to the lower surface and a portionthat is perpendicular to the lower surface.

1. An insert for use in a recess in a stair tread, comprising arectangular plate having parallel upper and lower surfaces and havingthe shape of the recess, the plate having four edges three of which forman acute angle with the lower surface and one of which forms a rightangle with the lower surface, the two corners defined by the three edgesand the lower surface are truncated to provide clearance at the corners.2. An insert as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the three edges hasa portion which is at an acute angle to the lower surface and a portionthat is perpendicular to the lower surface.